Sakakibara has been a Professor of Aoyama Gakuin University since April 2010. He has also served as a
Professor at Keio University and Waseda University. From 1997-1999, he was Japan’s Vice Minister of
Finance and International Affairs. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Michigan.

The Institute for Indian Economic Studies (IIES) was established by Professor Sakakibara, a well-known Japanese statesman and a former Japan’s Vice Minister of Finance and International Affairs as an independent foundation (general incorporated foundation under the Japanese law) in 2010. Apart from establishing a
wide network within India, IIES has been nurturing in-house capabilities on wide ranging India related matters, be it economy,
financial markets, regulatory or industry related, through professionals outsourced from the central bank of India viz., the
Reserve Bank of India and the largest private commercial bank of India in the private sector viz., the ICICI Bank.
While the world has suffered from a recession after the recent worldwide financial crisis, emerging countries such as BRICs
have been quickly restored and are taking the lead in the world economy. China and India in particular, with their population
size and mouth watering domestic markets, are now increasingly playing significant roles in the global economy. As emerging
economies become important in international trade, the business strategies of multinational corporations are changing.
Japanese corporations are also adjusting themselves to such worldwide trend by shifting their international policies from
manufacturing in China and/or in South East Asian countries for the purpose of exporting to developed markets such as USA
and EU, to aiming directly at emerging markets.
Although it has been a long time since Japanese corporations had entered into China and they have been successfully
cultivating Chinese market, Indian market remains largely untouched. The advantages of proximity and cultural as also
historical linkages that supported Japanese in establishing business with China and South East Asia are absent largely with regard to India. But such factors have not deterred companies from the West and even Asian nations like South Korea and
even China either from establishing successful ventures in India or more importantly engaging India. Lack of awareness about
the Indian business space and its baffling diversity are some of the reasons why Japanese corporations are not moving into
India despite the country's potential. To put it in brief, India probably is the only next big opportunity that could be similar to
what China offered the global corporations in the last two decades or so. It is widely believed that India is going to enjoy both
demographic advantage and a high growth for the next two to three decades.
Given its expertise and its strong and stable networks in India, IIES believes that it could continue to help Japanese companies
in overcoming these initial hiccups for a successful business venture in India.